RIP: A to Z

I do love it when a headline has it’s own rhyme scheme. Much farther down on my list of loves, however, are Fall cancellations. That’s not to say that they aren’t a necessary part of the TV circle of life. When shows die, their carcasses are absorbed back into Mother Pop-Culture and are reborn, under the guise of a “new” show. And so it goes; Cheers begets Friends begets How I Met Your Mother begets Happy Endings begets… CSI: New Orleans? Who knows.

While I’ve been pretty satisfied by most of this year’s early cancellations (Bad Judge, Manhattan Love Story), one has lodged itself in my craw. I know that A to Z wasn’t the strongest contender this year. It’s ratings weren’t great and it was, truth told, just another serial rom-com to clutter the bottom of the DVR, but I liked it. Whereas the aforementioned Bad Judge and Manhattan Love Story were fundamentally flawed, I thought A to Z had a lot of potential. Or that it would, at least, outlive that laugh-tracked disaster Mulaney (sorry John). Because it was funny, and it was clever, and it was going somewhere, albeit a little slowly. Apparently that wasn’t enough for the ‘stach twisting, cigar puffing, show slaughtering fat cats over at NBC. So rest in peace, A to Z. We hardly knew thee… RHYME! Sorry, sad again. So, so sad. It really is too bad. More time is what I wish we had.